


Stranded Souls

by LithiumPB



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Anxious Boiz, City Scenario, Fluff, Gen, Leo Can't Use Magic, M/M, Modern Day, Probably Infrequent Updates, Skeleton OC(s), They Might Smooch, This Doesn't Pertain to the Story But My Friend Wanted It, Undertale AU, Undertale Multiverse, We're Making This Up As We Go, Willow Can't Use Too Much Magic, Willow Has RDD (Residual Drainage Dissociative), Willow is a Hoe, Yeah It's Probably Canon, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:14:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27719384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LithiumPB/pseuds/LithiumPB
Summary: So uh, my friend and are making a zombie fic with our OCs, and uhhhhhhhhhh we don't know what we're doing but we decided to start posting since we're at 50+ pages in docs, so here! Hope you enjoy!Queue badly written summary since idk how to explain stuff!In the midst of a zombie apocalypse, two skeletons are doing their best to survive the next day. What happens when they meet each other in a world where everything and everyone is so hostile?
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

Stranded Souls

**Prologue**

The sound of screams and shouts echoed through the city as the skeleton ran from the horde.

Usually he had more places to hide.

But in the city, everything was locked and too high to scale from the ground. At least there was no shortage of obstacles. Finding it almost natural, his parkour skills really shined.

“Why did I have to shoot that stupid zombie!?” The monster scolded himself as he vaulted and ducked through the ruins of old cars, scrap, and flora that filled the streets.

_He had to find somewhere safe._

His non-existent lungs burned as he tried to ignore the ache in his legs from walking all day. Pushing his other arm through the free strap of his backpack, he buckled the two straps together as he ran.

Trying to change routes, he hopped a short fence and cut through an alleyway, throwing them off briefly. Whipping his skull around, he looked for somewhere he could go. A fire escape caught his sight, but the ladder was way too high to reach, so he had to discard the option.

_Dead end… dead end… more zombies...too risky...dead end…_

Looking over his shoulder, the horde seemed to be quickly growing by the minute. It was still shocking how quickly they all collected into the screaming crowd they were. The monster panted heavily as he ran with his gear, his strides long and desperate as sweat rolled down his skull. Despite all this gear and fatigue, he seemed to be slowly outrunning them?

_Am I getting away?_ He pondered.

Suddenly, a screaming zombie plowed into him from the right, violently knocking him off his feet and onto the ground, his MPX now pinned underneath him. Leo barely got his arm upwards to block the zombie now thrashing on top of him, and the horde was getting closer…

**_Earlier, Leo’s POV_ **

Barely making any noise, Leo patrolled through the aisles of the mostly scavenged store. Surprisingly, there were still some supplies left around, likely since he was deep into the city. Naturally, there were more zombies the further you went into the city, so it was a risk foraging this far. But Leo had grown weary of scavenging the houses on the city perimeter, they were almost always completely empty.

Leo walked by a cash register, looking at it for a moment. It was almost funny how all of the money inside used to mean something. He could have bought so much food, so much water, medicine, and other supplies with the cash. Now it was just some spare paper and metal. The only use he’s come across for it is writing notes, that’s the only thing it’s good for anymore. Speaking of, there seemed to be a couple of these money notes in this city. The messages were Russian though, so he couldn’t tell what it said.

Leo shook his skull and kept walking. As he meandered past a display of wiper fluid, his backpack caught the edge of one of the bottles. Reflexes kicking in, he dove to catch the bottle, succeeding and sliding a bit on the dirty floor. He gave a sigh of relief before quietly standing back up and placing the bottle back where it was. If he still had his pickup, he might’ve taken it with him.

_Just the essentials._ Leo reminded himself.

After all, the supplies that he had on him already were weighing him down. He took off his backpack for a moment and placed it on the ground, rubbing his shoulders before slumping down next to his backpack to take a breather for a moment. He sighed. It had been so long since he’d seen another person.

_That is, a sane and not undead person._ He mused, resting his hand on his pistol sitting in his holster, before standing up and shouldering his pack once more, the ache settling in once again. Walking back past the counter, he carefully opened the employees only door, slipping into the back room. There wasn’t much. Some shoes, a flipped table, and other junk. Nothing of use. He eyed the room until he saw what he was looking for; The back exit, light shining under the door into the dark which was inside. Cranking the stiff lock, he jerked the door open, revealing the alleyway filled with garbage. 

_Where to next?_ He thought, looking left and right.

He hummed.

Right side. He decided.

Quietly, he crouched as he peered around each corner revealing the street. He could see some undead about a block deeper into the city, and less on the outskirts. Across the street stood a metalworks shop; looked like a great place to look for supplies. Crouching down and walking heel to toe, he scuffled over to a car in the middle of the street, pausing to scout out the area once more, before rushing to the alley beside the shop. 

This alley was somewhat cleaner, but it was still evident that no one had been here in a long time. A bead of sweat ran down his skull, non-existent adrenaline pumping through his body. Wrapping around the building, he laid eyes on the back door. Lines of rust and age ran down the door, almost to the point of it being sealed shut forever. But fortunately, the keyhole was intact.

_Perfect._ Leo thought as he gently placed his pack and gun down, pulling out a lockpick set. 

Good thing he taught himself how to pick locks in university so many years ago. His gloved hands got to work, twisting the lock gently with the tension wrench and trying to lift the pins up one by one with his pick. Thirty seconds or so had passed, with Leo sweeping his skull around to check the surroundings of the alley often. As he lifted the final pin with his tool, the lock gave way and turned the full 180 degrees. Leo sighed with relief, quickly sliding his tools back into the pouch and shoving it into his bag. Straining, he yanked on the door until it finally opened, cringing at the squeaks and groans of protest it made as it scraped the concrete. When he felt it was open enough, he squeezed through the gap along with his gear.

Scanning the room, he pulled out his flashlight, leaving his bag and MPX by the door while looking for both threats and anything of use. He had run into booby traps before, believe it or not, so it was good to be cautious. Looking around, he could tell that people had left in a hurry. Others may have looted the place long ago, but there was plenty left. It was probably because a lot of these tools were too heavy and bulky, plus, every second is a risk here in the city. 

Wandering through the shop, he stopped as something pushed his boot upward slightly. Looking down, he spotted a couple pairs of coveralls, but there was something else that scraped like metal across the floor under one of them. Moving his foot to the side, he reached under the cloth to grab the object, picking it up to examine it under his light. 

“A multi-tool.” He mumbled, nodding to himself.

_This could come in handy._ He thought, putting it away in his backpack. 

Glancing to his right, he saw a bottle of rubbing alcohol. He grabbed that too, that’s always useful.

He swiveled his skull around as he shined his flashlight around a little more. He didn’t really know what exactly he was looking for, but he seemed to always know it when he saw it. Leo was always finding new and interesting gadgets that could help him.  As he looked around, his flashlight beam landed on a door. 

_An office?_

Hopefully it was open, he didn’t want to have to pick another lock. He grasped the door handle and felt a small wave of relief as the handle turned easily with a click.

Only milliseconds after pushing the door in, Leo was tackled by a snarling and bloody zombie, the mindless thing screeching as it flailed trying to grab him. Leo was struggling between the concrete and the zombie, trying to get his boot between himself and the undead being, but to no avail as he could only hold it back by its chest and neck. Sweat started to pour down Leo’s face, making it hard to see as he panted fast and heavy. 

With his last ounce of strength, he pushed the zombie back just enough for him to draw and placed his sidearm against the zombie’s torso, firing twice with the back of the pistol inches away from being pressed against his sternum. The zombie jerked violently and flopped to the side, gargling before Leo kicked it away and put one in the zombie’s dome, finishing it off.

Leo went limp and laid back for a second, the adrenaline and the high pitched ringing in his non-existent ears becoming too much as he gasped for air.

The break didn’t last long though. Screams filled the city streets outside as the gunshots had alerted them.

“Fuck.” Leo cursed as he holstered his pistol. Leaping over the body and grabbing his other gear, he sprinted out the door he came. 

He knew the horde would only grow.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Present, Leo’s POV_ **

  
Leo turned his skull away from the screaming thing that once used to be a human, trying with all of his remaining strength to push it away.

_Not this shit again-_ He thought, before grabbing what was left of the creatures shirt and yanking it off to the side while pushing its head away. This dislodged the zombie just far enough for him to yet again draw his sidearm and fire once, hitting it in the forehead. Still breathing hard, he managed a sigh of relief.

But only for a brief moment. Not wasting any time, he looked around, trying to decide what the best escape route would be. He wanted to make his way back to the suburbs where he’d come from, but it sounded like the undead were enclosing from almost every direction. Leo was audibly distressed as he was forced to retreat further into the city.

Vaulting over some hand railing, he holstered his pistol and opted for his MPX in case any more of these things tried to jump him, since he didn’t have time to safely scout any of the areas he was hastening through. Climbing a chain-link fence, he made the decision to hop up and use the cars like stepping stones so he could cross the gap of the narrow street, before heading towards another fence to hop.

Before he could get to it, he slid to a halt after spotting zombies running towards him on the other side of the alleyway fence. Thinking on his feet, he panicked before charging through a door on his left into some kind of restaurant. 

Hopping over toppled tables and chairs, he tried to figure where to go next. He didn’t want to be trapped in a small building, so he couldn’t go upstairs. Leo needed to get somewhere safe, and he’d know when he saw it. Not wanting to risk the doors being locked, he jumped over a chair, grabbing it and using the momentum to throw it through the window. The glass shattered into large shards, falling to the ground. 

_Ugh… that’s probably going to attract more…_ Leo thought to himself, vaulting through the opening he had created. 

On the other side of the window was the open street of the city, and… he felt like he might collapse seeing so many zombies in the street…

He tried to suppress the gasp that he felt escape him, before starting his escape again.

Full-on sprinting in the opposing direction faster than he ever thought he could go, he felt his heart beat in his non-existent ears.

_Where can he go!?_

_What is he supposed to do now!?_

_These buildings were all skyscrapers. There could be dozens… even hundreds of them in any one of these buildings…_

_Maybe there’s a bank, or even an armored truck for the bank that I might be able to use. That would be strong to hide in. I just have to keep going…_

Leo was filled with dread. How much longer would he have to go? He felt like he was almost completely exhausted. There’s nothing that he could…

_Wh… what was that?_ Leo thought he heard something over the sound of endless zombies behind him. 

_No… There’s no way there’s a living person in the city…_

“Hey! Over here!” A voice called. 

Leo whipped his skull over to the loading area by one of the buildings. There was someone standing in front of a loading bay on one of the skyscrapers, dressed in very… odd clothing…

“Please! Escape this way!” He called out. 

It looked like there was something propping the bay door open behind him? Was this… some kind of trap!?

How was this person alive!?

And if he was really looking to help him, why would he want to!? 

There were so many alarms going off in Leo’s skull, but looking back at the horde that he was just barely keeping ahead of, it didn’t look like he had a choice. 

_The person was a skeleton monster, like him, and… he did look like he was sincerely concerned…_

_Fuck it._

He strafed towards the stranger, who then quickly retreated inside. Leo built up as much speed as he could manage before sliding under the bay door, kicking out whatever it was that was holding it up, letting the door drop shut with a harsh slam. He hurried over to lock the door to the ground, stomping the large latch shut with a clack before scrambling backward on all fours, breathing harshly. 

Not half a second later, the zombies slammed against the door, trying in vain to get inside. The bay door warped and creaked and groaned with the force of a hundred bodies pushing against it. He took a moment to catch his breath, making sure that there was no way for the zombies to get inside. It seemed like it was a well-built door. 

Looking around, he became confused and then conflicted realizing that the skeleton that was here... is gone. 


	3. Chapter 3

_**Leo’s POV** _

Leo grabbed his backpack straps, pulling them up before standing with wobbly legs, pushing off the smooth concrete with his gloved hands. Staring at the bay door, which was still groaning with noise, he tiredly stumbled off into the building. He still needed time to process what had just happened. He was safe for now, but now he was in a completely new environment that he didn’t know.

As he moved through the building, he stumbled into the main lobby. The main entrance was barricaded beyond belief, it would probably take an hour to undo it all. As for the front windows, luckily, they were locked tight with metal security shutters.

Leo was happy with whatever company decided to install those, as he could hear the swarms of moaning undead outside still. Moving down the hall, he walked through the conference halls of the past. He could tell that people definitely left in a hurry, but he didn’t see any signs of the undead. Nonetheless of course he cleared every room with his MPX. After all, the ground floor would be where the majority of the undead were, if there even were any.

_Is this place empty? Will he find any zombies or dead people in this building? How big is this place? And above all, what was that other monster doing here? Was he nice or dangerous? Maybe he’s trapped like me…_ Leo thought.

_Or maybe he just lives here?_

Leo shook his skull. No point in worrying about that too much. He just had to focus on clearing rooms, and finding someplace to sleep. Maybe even look for some supplies. After all, his gut told him that he wasn’t going to be leaving this place any time soon. There was no parking garage on the map, so he assumed that the only practical way out of this place was out the front doors, which was a bad idea.

_Maybe back through the loading bay doors? No… still gonna be swarmed by zombies for a couple weeks…_

He leaned against the wall of a room that he just cleared, resting for a moment while deep in thought. It was still nerve wracking to explore this place even after all the time and experience he had. The fact that he had been jumped by zombies so many times didn’t help either.

Resuming his patrol, Leo crept up the stairs, trying to make as little noise as possible while still holding his gun firmly in his hand. Stopping and crouching down, he held his breath, listening for any kind of noise in his surroundings.

_Nothing._

He sharply kept at it for an hour or so on the ground floor, with Leo only stopping to cautiously take a 30 minute break in a closed off lone office. He then moved to clear the second floor, which took around another hour. Along the way, he found a few useful things on both floors.

Meal bars and snacks, a partly filled first aid kit which he used to restock his own, cleaning chemicals that could be used for multiple purposes, filters, and coffee beans. Leo didn’t really drink coffee, but he figured it’s good for bargaining since so many people seem to love it.

Just as he was about to move to check the third floor, he wondered if he even really needed to. Checking the elevator numbers, he found that there were 70 floors in this skyscraper, and there was no way that he was clearing all of them, even if he wanted to. Besides, he was still at risk of running into the mystery monster, and had already begun worrying about where they could be. They ran away so fast that Leo didn’t even get a sense of a general direction.

What was Leo going to do? He was so tired, but sleep was often vulnerable.

He found himself sweating slightly just thinking about how he could be lurking around even now. Looking through the windows, he turned to see the sun beginning to set. He stared at it for a moment before his concentration was interrupted by his non-existent stomach asking for food. He closed his eyesockets and sighed, deciding to at least try and find somewhere safe to sleep, so he could let his guard down enough to eat.

He discarded many ideas he thought of.

_A closet? Nope. Maybe the stairwell? Nope. The basement? The elevator? Ugh, this felt hopeless......_

_Unless…_ he paused, thoughts trailing back to the elevator.

Making his way back down to the elevator on the second floor, Leo retrieved his pry bar to separate the elevator doors, pulling them the rest of the way open. This presented the elevator shaft as well as the elevator docked on the first floor.

Stepping to the side and supporting himself on the cross-beams, he let the elevator doors shut on their own spring mechanism with a clunk. Looking upwards, he could hear the echo of every noise he made. He hoped that nothing heard that.

Slowly climbing down onto the top of the elevator below, he inspected the area around the elevator carriage itself. Turns out he could easily fit behind it. Lowering himself down, he shined his flashlight around, looking at the area below. There actually seemed to be enough space for him on the ground under the elevator.

Between carrying so much stuff and being chased for what felt like all day, this may have been the most exhausted he had ever been in his life. He couldn’t help making a thud when he landed, the sound echoing up the elevator shaft. Closing his eyes and drawing in a sharp breath, he winced at the sound, and his soreness. Leaning over and pointing his flashlight up past the side of the carriage, the dark abyss of the elevator shaft seemed to go on forever.

It hauntingly absorbed everything from his flashlight, not letting anything be seen. Leo couldn’t look anymore, not sure of what might be waiting for him up there.

Switching his focus, he aimed his flashlight under the elevator. Surprisingly there was quite a lot of room both under the elevator and between the braces to keep the elevator from hitting the ground. It was also surprisingly clean, although ignoring the big balls of dust that hadn’t been touched for years. Only downside was the darkness, but this was likely the most discreet spot in this skyscraper.

Leo brought his flashlight up to the bottom of the elevator, clipping it to the bottom of the carriage so that he could have some light, freeing up his hands. A sigh of relief was made as he was finally able to take off his backpack, swinging it around and opening it up. Taking out the meal bars he had found, he rolled them over in his palms before he changed his mind and grabbed one of the few MRE’s he had instead.

_He deserved a hot meal dammit._

As he turned the packet to see the words on the side, it was revealed to be spaghetti marinara...

_Stars, he missed his friend’s cooking._

Unconsciously he prepared his food, pouring water into the bag with the flameless heater, watching it puff up with steam slowly. Taking a deep breath, he slid off his forearm guards from under his sleeves, scratching his radius and ulna.

Going through the other contents of the MRE, Leo smiled at the chocolate that had been included, before putting it away for later and snacking on the crackers and other items instead.

He silently took a couple minutes for the food to heat up, appreciating that he somehow escaped the impossible. Somehow he was still alive by the end of his wits.

With that thought, he retrieved and peeled open the steaming hot packet of a meal from the heater bag, before shoveling the food into his mouth, sighing deeply while chewing.

_At least it was hot._

As he finished his meal not wasting a drop of sauce, he zipped up his pack and laid his skull down on it, along with a jacket on the dusty floor as a poor man’s mattress.

He had a lot to figure out. But for now, it was time to try and get some shut eyesocket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that these chapters may seem shorter, it's difficult to format in AO3. Hope that you are liking it so far!


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